Antarctic Climate Expedition 2023

Join Indonesia’s Climate Revolution!

Meet Andrew Charlton

Andrew Charlton has been selected to represent Indonesia on the Antarctic Climate Expedition aboard the Sylvia Earle in 2023. Andrew Charlton is the third generation of a family from Manado, North Sulawesi, with a proven track record in environmental conservation and marine protection. Following in his family’s footsteps, Andrew is honored to be selected but he needs funding to take his place on the expedition.

Why Get Involved?

Andrew recognizes that the majority of Indonesians are not aware of the role they could play to help with climate change. His ambition is to raise awareness and his participation in the summit will make him, as an Indonesian, uniquely positioned to address this. Upon his return from Antartica, Andrew has scheduled meetings with high level government officials and other important stakeholders to push forward initiatives that will drive positive changes in North Sulawesi and across Indonesia.

How to Help

If you are considering donating to a cause, please consider Andrew's Indonesian Climate Change Revolution. Together we can bring about the changes we all want to see in the world.

A Message from Andrew:

Hi! I'm Andrew Charlton. The ocean has always been a massive part of my life. At 10 I was already scuba diving and shortly after coral became a huge passion. In 2017, at 12 years old, I helped start a coral nursery & restoration project which led to work with other restoration projects which then inspired me to give public presentations about coral. Because of these experiences, I’ve been selected to be the Indonesian Youth Representative for the Antarctic Climate Expedition in 2023. Together with world leaders in climate science, research and advocacy, I will be sailing with Dr. Sylvia Earle for 10 days in February of 2023, working to develop 23 resolutions aimed at stimulating global net-zero carbon emissions by 2035 as well as conducting research and collecting data in the Antarctic.

Most Indonesians are uninformed about - or uninterested in - climate change and its massive world impact. With the knowledge and experience gained from this expedition, I will return to my home province of North Sulawesi, Indonesia and spread awareness in our local language discussing how the warming climate is impacting Indonesia and specific action steps to take to reduce this harmful trend. Already I’ve spoken with and received invitations from the Mayor of Manado, the North Sulawesi State Senate and schools. Nationally, I am working together with Indonesian influencers (Hamish Daud & Kaka Slank) and I’ve met with the Tourism Minister. One school on Bali is receptive to my plan and others will follow.

Any contributions you make will go directly to sending me to Antarctica and bringing real change to Indonesia and the world, so please consider donating and becoming a part of Indonesia's climate revolution!

Find me on Instagram: @andrew_.jg

Below is a letter of recommendation from Dr. Paul Muir, whom I worked with this Summer on a coral survey in North Sulawesi:

To whom it may concern

Dear Sir/Madam,

I had the pleasure of working with Andrew Charlton for three weeks earlier this year on a project looking at the status of coral reefs of North Sulawesi and rare Acropora coral species. With one other researcher, we surveyed 22 sites using SCUBA, with Andrew playing an integral part in the work, recording the abundance of the main hard coral genera. Andrew excelled at the fieldwork, coral identification and data collection, to the point where I kept thinking of him as a graduate student. As part of the work, we also presented our preliminary findings to a number of different audiences, including the Indonesian minister for tourism. Here, Andrew also showed excellent communication skills and maturity beyond his years, engaging with the different audiences and 'getting the message across'.

I have worked in university and museum research for over thirty years, published in high profile journals such as Science and Proceedings of the Royal Society and supervised several graduate and post-graduate students. Andrew is definitely post-graduate student material, despite the fact that he does not yet have a degree! I could not recommend him highly enough for your university.

Yours Sincerely, Dr. PAUL MUIR